Results 7,661-7,680 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Representative Organisations (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: Representative bodies in the Defence Forces will be part of public sector pay talks. They are just like they were in the last round. There was a time when they were not and that was wrong. That has subsequently been addressed. My job is to make sure their case is heard and they have a platform to make that case as part of the public sector pay talks. I do not have a closed mind on the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: They are being addressed as we speak. Much of the high-level implementation plan has been and continues to be implemented but it is true that some elements still remain. We are keeping a channel of communication open with the representative bodies within the Defence Forces, that is, PDFORRA and the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, to make sure they understand the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has shown a real interest in the Naval Service and its capacity, and for good reason. The Naval Service is significantly under strength at the moment. As a result of that, two ships that should be at sea do not have the capacity to go to sea because we do not have the crews to crew them. We are trying to address that. We worked for more than three months with the Department of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Search and Rescue Service Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: At the outset, let me clarify that no decision has yet been taken to change any aspect of the current delivery model of search and rescue, SAR, aviation services in Ireland's SAR domain. There is currently a project ongoing under the remit of the Department of Transport to consider, develop and bring to fruition a new marine search and rescue aviation contract for future service provision....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Search and Rescue Service Provision (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: With respect, this has nothing to do with wages. It is to do with ensuring we have the capacity to save lives at sea when people get into trouble. I have had the benefit of the experience and the expertise of the current SAR contract. I would like to see the Air Corps and the Defence Forces playing as significant a role as they can in any future SAR arrangement or contract. There is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Honours (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Brady for the question. The issue of awarding military medals for gallantry, MMG, and the distinguished service medal, DSM, to personnel who served in Jadotville in September 1961 has been considered on a number of occasions over the years. The siege of Jadotville was a prominent event that occurred during Ireland's peacekeeping mission in the Congo in September 1961 where...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Honours (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: It is important not to draw conclusions here as to what the motivations were back in the 1960s with regard to these medals. It is important that we put in place a review body that is genuinely independent and that has military and academic expertise on it so it is considered in the full context of the questions being asked today. We had a very good discussion on this during the Seanad...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Military Honours (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The way the process works is that people get recommended for either a DSM or an MMG. Those names then go to a medals board for assessment. Often, even though they have been recommended for medals, people are not awarded them because, for whatever reason, the medals board decides that the threshold has not been reached for the medal to be awarded. That is very much a military process, the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Remuneration (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy's question referred to the proposed commission on the Defence Forces but I am very happy to answer that question and any supplementary questions he may have. The establishment of a commission on the Defence Forces was an important commitment made in the recently agreed programme for Government.  The programme for Government states that the commission will be tasked with...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Representative Organisations (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51, 60, 65, 420 and 431 together. Under the Defence Acts, 1954-2015, the Permanent Defence Force Representative Associations are prohibited from being associated with or affiliated with any trade unions or any other body without the consent of the Minister.  It is a matter for each State to determine how their armed forces may...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Missions (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: EUNAVFOR MED Operation IRINI, the UN mandated EU Naval mission in the eastern Mediterranean, was launched on the 31st of March 2020 with an initial mandate running until the 31st of March 2021. The Operation's core task is the implementation of the UN arms embargo through the use of aerial, satellite and maritime assets in accordance with UNSCR 1970 (2011) and...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Expenditure (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The European Peace Facility was proposed by High Representative and Vice President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini, in June 2018 with the aim of providing the EU with a single off-budget financing mechanism of up to €5 billion for the period of the next MFF - 2021 to 2027 and would finance a range of Common Security Defence Policy (CSDP) actions having military or defence...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Recruitment (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: Direct Entry recruitment for specialists into the Defence Forces is not a new measure and has been used to recruit medical doctors and engineers along with instrumentalists and conductors for the Defence Force School of Music for some years. Many Defence Force specialities are developed in-house but in some cases this can have a long lead in time of up to 5 years. Opportunities to fill...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The Government has acknowledged that there are retention difficulties in the Defence Forces. This is a feature of the highly competitive jobs market that has existed and the demand for personnel, particularly those with specialist skills sets. This is not confined to Ireland and also impacted other military forces internationally. A range of factors influence an...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: White Papers (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The White Paper on Defence sets the defence policy agenda over a ten year planning horizon and covers all aspects of defence within overall security policy. The White Paper on Defence – Update 2019, which was published in December 2019 following Government approval, is the first in a new fixed cycle of defence reviews which the Government decided to introduce when it...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 84 together. As of 04 November 2020, Ireland is contributing 569 Defence Forces personnel to 10 different missions throughout the world and also to a range of international organisations and National representations. The main overseas missions in which the Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Naval Service (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: I can assure the Deputy that neither I, nor my Department, have put pressure on the Naval service to deploy vessels in a situation where the Naval Service has safety concerns over staffing shortages. The Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency tasked with a variety of defence and other roles.  While the main day to day role of the Naval Service is to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Budget 2021 (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The total gross allocation provided to the Defence Sector in Budget 2021 is €1,072.3 million, comprising €809.7 million for Vote 36 (Defence) and €262.6 million for Vote 35 (Army Pensions). This represents an overall gross increase of over €32 million on 2020 and follows on from previous increases that have seen the Defence Vote Group funding envelope increase...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Bodies (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The 2015 White Paper on Defence included a commitment to evaluate the potential development of a new Institute for Peace Support and Leadership Training at the Defence Forces Training Centre in the Curragh.  The current Programme for Government also includes a commitment to develop this Institute. The primary objective of this initiative, should it prove feasible, is to...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel (17 Nov 2020)

Simon Coveney: The military authorities have advised that the whole time equivalent strength of the Permanent Defence Force, at 30th September 2020, was 8,529 personnel, comprised of - Army 6,878 - Air Corps 752 - Naval Service 899 personnel. I am aware that there continues to be a shortfall between the overall current strength figures and those of the establishment and I am committed...